What I’ve Been Doing | 26 Days After Leaving

It’s been almost a month since I got on a plane heading to Stockholm, which means it’s about time for another update on what life has been like here. And it’s been amazing. Never in a million years could I have thought that the first few weeks were gonna be this good. I know it sounds like a bit of an exaggeration, but it really isn’t. And I’ll explain why.

I have about three weeks to cover in this post, so I’ll highlight the nicest, coolest and most interesting events and adventures. Starting with the best one: the crayfish party. A little over two weeks ago, on a Saturday, CEMS Club Stockholm organised a party to kick off the new school year Swedish style. The student association has cabin near the water, about an hour drive from Stockholm city centre, which is where this party took place. The cabin is on top of hill, with stairs going all the way down to the water. It is as beautiful as it sounds.

After some outdoor games, drinking cheap wine and finally using my Polariod camera again, it was time for the actual crayfish dinner. Having never eaten crayfish before, I needed some help figuring it out. It’s definitely harder than it looks. Per tradition, in between all the peeling and eating, we sang a number of Swedish songs. And since I’m not totally fluent in Swedish yet, it was mostly mumbling from my part. The night ended with one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve seen in a while and a dance party with all the sing along songs you can think of.

Fast forward to a few days later and we arrive at the kickoff meeting of CEMS Club Stockholm (CCS). I think I’ve mentioned it before, but CCS organises all sorts of events to make sure that all CEMS students get the most out of there experience here. I’ll be taking on a support role within the team, mostly doing social media stuff like creating Facebook events, posting on our Instagram and updating the website. I’ll also be helping out with the organisation of some events, like the cantus that’s coming up this Friday. It’s so nice to be a part of CCS, cause you get to know a lot more people and learn about how much work it actually takes to keep something like CCS running.

However, I shouldn’t forget about the school part, since it is the main reason I’m here in Stockholm. And so far, so good. The thing is, there’s a lot of work to do. More work than I’ve ever needed to do. Lectures are a lot longer than I’m used to, so I need to adjust to that. It’s not unexpected though, I knew what I was getting myself into. Last week was especially intense, with three deadlines and a presentation. It meant that I would be at school around 8AM and return home when it was already dark. But the people in my class are amazing and we all share the ‘misery’ of trying to do things really well and then finishing it on time. Being able to complain about the same things definitely helps with building friendships. I’m also drinking a lot more coffee, for obvious reasons.

So after quite an intense school week, it was finally time for some fresh air and exploration this weekend. We went on a tour through the beautiful non-touristy parts of Stockholm thanks to our lovely local Swede Marcus. We were incredibly lucky with the weather and I, again, took about 300 pictures. I’m slowly getting the hang of the city and starting to feel like a local. I know which metros to take where and people are starting to ask me things in Swedish, which must mean I don’t look too confused when strolling through the city. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for the next few weeks!

P.s. I’m sure that I’m forgetting about 50% of the fun stuff that has happened. Like running 8.5K through a beautiful park in Stockholm, or laughing so much that crying took over and I actually needed to redo my makeup. Or less fun stuff, like getting my phone stolen. But if that’s the worst thing that’s gonna happen, I’ll be fine!

P.s.s. I realise that I’ve been fairly inconsistent with posting messages on the website and I doubt that is gonna improve any time soon. So, if would like to get a notification when a new update is posted, fill in your email address on the right side of the website. I’ll notify you of new messages, so you don’t miss anything!

Hey there, I’m Inez

My name is Inez, a twenty-three-year-old Dutchie studying International Business / CEMS at Stockholm School of Economics. I created The Lovely Notebook as a way to document all the memories I want to keep forever.